Cadmium plating has been widely used on various materials, including but not limited to high-strength steel, aircraft components, fasteners, electrical connectors, and numerous others. Cadmium has been used to promote properties such as corrosion resistance, lubricity, and electrical conductivity. Cadmium's low cost of plating and it's anti-galling performance (no adhesive wear on threaded surfaces) have contributed to its widespread use. However, continued commercial uses of cadmium have been facing pressure due to health concerns in recent years, including being listed as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) in 2012 by the European Union environment & safety regulatory agency REACH.
Many alternatives to cadmium plating have been developed and evaluated over the years with none fully matching the properties of cadmium layer, most notably corrosion protection, lubricity or anti-galling performance, or compatibility with corrosion resistance-promoting passivation treatments. For example, aluminum has been proposed as an alternative to cadmium plating, but its lubricity/anti-galling performance is inferior to cadmium. Consequently, due to the lack of similar lubricity or anti-galling properties possessed by Cd, pure Al may sometimes cause seizure or result in improper torque tension for threaded components.